Lost in the Shadows

Carol Bergen

Description:

Bio:

-excerpted from the official biography of the “Re-elect Bergen ’74” Campaign.

[cue retching noises]
-Just Asking

Hey, data’s data, a’right, omae?
-Wirefrog

When people from the rest of the continent think the Upper Midwest, they usually think trolls. In part it’s because during the Goblinization two Trolls expressed for every one Ork, or because of shows that play on that stereotype like ‘The BlackBlue Show’. However, a large part of that is because for the last four years, the most recognizable face of the Twin Cities has been its mayor, Carol Bergen.

Part of the first generation of naturally born Trolls in 2032. She was born in the predominantly-Troll neighborhood of McKinley in North Minneapolis. Her parents, Jackson and Emma Bergen both worked at the General Mills plant their entire lives. Her mother Emma was especially active in the growing Troll Labor movement in the late ’30’s and into the 40’s and there are numerous pictures of ‘little’ Carol with her parents at ‘2-4-2’ rallies.

2-4-2, that like a gang code or something?
-True That

Not from around here, are you, phooj ywg? If you lived through the 40’s in Chi-town, Detroit or the Cities, you would have seen it. Two-for-Two (“2-4-2”) was the slogan of the Troll Labor movement, it meant ‘Two Days Pay for Two Days Work’, because manual labor jobs were replacing two, sometimes three, non-troll workers with one troll, while still paying them the same as one. After all, it takes more to feed a troll as well. A lot of construction sites, especially those run by the High Steel Tribes, still work by the Union Standards pioneered by the 2-4-2.
-Tswb Xav

In 2048 Carol took her GED and joined the Ares Military Service.

Wait. That would make her what? Like 16?
-JaiAlaiMom

Ah, lying about your age and joining the military. It’s almost like a rite of passage for a young Troll. Takes me back. And we almost always get away with it, partially because we develop early and partially because recruiters don’t care as long the army gets another big, hard-to-kill grunt…
-Jotun

During her four two-year tours of duty, she earned ‘Soldier of the Month’ no fewer than 13 times, earned the Clausewitz Star twice and the coveted Henry Ford Exceptional Service Award, appearing three times on the high-lights reel for Desert Wars (Desert Wars ’50, ’52 and ’53), being spotlighted in the Ares DW coverage in ’53.

And if you give a slot about your career, guess which of those is most important?
-Just Asking

Having always intended to give something back to the city that had given her so much, in 2056, at the rank of Captain, Carol left the Military arm of Ares and transferred to their Knight Errant branch proudly serving Minneapolis. She quickly made a reputation for nuanced, proactive, community-oriented policing.

Surprised the hell out of everybody when this big leg-breaker applied for Detective back in 58. Everybody figured her for Rapid Response with her record. Surprised us more when she turned out to be good at it..
-3yearsleft

So is ‘nuanced’ the new pc term for ‘corrupt as hell’ or what?
-Just Asking

Maybe she was just more interested in getting things done, tej zaum? There’s the rules and then there’s reality, khwv khwv.
-Phim Kooj Koi

Most of your will remember first seeing Carol, however, in 2064, as precinct Captain of the Sumner-Glenwood station, for her heroic actions in helping to quell the North Star riots that broke out in the wake of the Second Crash and New Revolution, especially when she organized the efforts of Ares corporate assets across the board to break the siege of Hawthorne. For these actions, and years of loyal service to both her employers and her community, and on the recommendation of then-current Minneapolis Mayor Driftwood, she was promoted to Regional Vice President for Enforcement Operations for Knight Errant, head of all public enforcement for this side of the river.

Besides, with her media exposure they needed someone who would wash away the collective bad taste Knight Errant left in the public’s mouth after the way her predecessor Caldwell slotted up the North Star situation.
-TheSource

Yeah! Bergen ROX! Roundtooths SUX!
-Nortzide

As Chief, Carol was able to bring the hands-on approach with which she’d managed Sumner-Glenwood to the whole of Minneapolis.

Lucky us [snark]
-CzechMate

Hey, give her her due, she kept the peace during the big manastorm of ‘65 didn’t she? I don’t know how my family would have gotten through it if she hadn’t arranged for those shamans to get those emergency supplies through.
-Shock-o-pi

Old-fashioned as it may seem to the rest of the world, up here we still recognize hard-work and initiative when we see it, so it was only natural that when the time came for Mayor John Driftwood to step down from the post that he had faithfully occupied for so many years, that Carol Bergen would be the one to step up to replace him and was elected as Mayor of Minneapolis in 2070 with a resounding mandate from the people she had served for over fifteen years.

Would have never won if it hadn’t been for the support from that Trog-loving race-traitor James!
-Humanisapiens

Yeah, backing a charismatic decorated war hero with a talent for media exposure. What possible motive could Governor Terrance James possibly had? It must be racial [eyeroll]
-Wire Rose

Carol Bergen combines a street-level understanding of the daily realities of the average citizen with years of experience at the highest-levels of the corporate world to form a fresh new vision of the future for all the citizens of Minneapolis. Re-elect Bergen in ’74 and open the door into the future!

Don’t know how much of a future she’s got. 44 ain’t young for a Troll and rumor has it that her health isn’t what it used to be, no matter how many Twins games openings and marathons she’s shown at. Possibly some kind of immune condition she got from growing up in the Smoke out north.
-MayoLight

Worrying. Bergen’s managed to keep the peace between Evo and Ares ever since Evo’s hostile takeover of 4M, who had always been Ares’ primary business partner in town. With her out of the picture, who’d be able to step into her (metaphorically and literally) big shoes? Certainly not Deputy Mayor Olson, who is not, I fear, all that he seems…
-TheSource

Who the frag are you?
-Just Asking

This artificial peace between Evo and Ares has run its course. When conflict between corps arises, that’s where we get our nyiaj, omae.
- Ginebig